Technology Talk
Americans harbor science bias
By: Anthony Valva
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Features
With the release of the president's budget request, it has been revealed that there no longer is a budget for NASA, meaning another Obama promise has been broken because it looks like we won't be going back to the moon.
The budget kills the constellation program, started by W. Bush and the Aeris 1 rocket that was supposed to replace the shuttle.
All this undermines going to Mars because the point of going back to the moon wasn't just to go back, but to use it as a staging area to go to Mars.
Former NASA administrator Michael Griffin claimed the Obama budget as disastrous, saying "it means the US has decided that it will not be a significant player for the foreseeable future."
I know we are in economic trouble, but if you look at what we are spending money on here, with the war and the bailouts, funding NASA is so little money.
Yes, this budget boosts the funding to 1 billion a year, but NASA needs 3 billion to operate.
So yes, it's being funded, but its underfunded.
If you think about it, I believe what the government really wants is to privatize it.
Bill Gates could fund it completely if he wanted to.
If you want to go to the moon, then go.
This is just another marker in the decline of science in America.
We lost the LHC to Europe, we've killed the space shuttle program so we now rely on Russia to get to space and now this.
I'm not sure what we are trying to do, but we are losing the lead in science.
Like I said, I understand that we should spend this money to fix things here on Earth, but it's human nature to be explorers.
We have a congress that, for several years, stopped stem cell research.
We have a population that is divided when it comes to science research. It's not that we can't fund it, it's just not popular.
America has a large anti-science bias.
Just look at this country. Its very anti-intellectual.
If you are an "egghead" you are made fun of.
Recently we elect presidents because they seem like a person who we would want to have a beer with.
If anyone comes onto the scene that was a layer or a scientist we pass them over for the guy who drives a truck.
I don't know about you, but I want the eggheads!
I want an educated individual running our country.
There is a belief that if you are very smart, you are very pompous and stuck-up. You flaunt your intelligence.
No, you present your intelligence, but others don't want to accept it.
Science is a dying subject in America.
We complain that we are not No. 1 in education anymore, but the general public makes fun of intelligent people.
We need to make up our minds right now.
Do we want the scientist or the guy who drives a truck?
The budget kills the constellation program, started by W. Bush and the Aeris 1 rocket that was supposed to replace the shuttle.
All this undermines going to Mars because the point of going back to the moon wasn't just to go back, but to use it as a staging area to go to Mars.
Former NASA administrator Michael Griffin claimed the Obama budget as disastrous, saying "it means the US has decided that it will not be a significant player for the foreseeable future."
I know we are in economic trouble, but if you look at what we are spending money on here, with the war and the bailouts, funding NASA is so little money.
Yes, this budget boosts the funding to 1 billion a year, but NASA needs 3 billion to operate.
So yes, it's being funded, but its underfunded.
If you think about it, I believe what the government really wants is to privatize it.
Bill Gates could fund it completely if he wanted to.
If you want to go to the moon, then go.
This is just another marker in the decline of science in America.
We lost the LHC to Europe, we've killed the space shuttle program so we now rely on Russia to get to space and now this.
I'm not sure what we are trying to do, but we are losing the lead in science.
Like I said, I understand that we should spend this money to fix things here on Earth, but it's human nature to be explorers.
We have a congress that, for several years, stopped stem cell research.
We have a population that is divided when it comes to science research. It's not that we can't fund it, it's just not popular.
America has a large anti-science bias.
Just look at this country. Its very anti-intellectual.
If you are an "egghead" you are made fun of.
Recently we elect presidents because they seem like a person who we would want to have a beer with.
If anyone comes onto the scene that was a layer or a scientist we pass them over for the guy who drives a truck.
I don't know about you, but I want the eggheads!
I want an educated individual running our country.
There is a belief that if you are very smart, you are very pompous and stuck-up. You flaunt your intelligence.
No, you present your intelligence, but others don't want to accept it.
Science is a dying subject in America.
We complain that we are not No. 1 in education anymore, but the general public makes fun of intelligent people.
We need to make up our minds right now.
Do we want the scientist or the guy who drives a truck?
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